Yet Another Mac Exploit

Even though the Mac is touted as very secure – as the installed base of Macs increases, it will increasingly become a target for viruses. Here is yet another example of the early trend. Note also that this exploit is not found “in the wild” yet.

 

Trojans exploit Mac OS X ARDAgent flaw.

 

Building on the Trojan released last week, a group of hackers appear to be targeting the

Mac OS X platform with more variations. Last Thursday, Mac antivirus vendors Intego

and SecureMac reported a serious vulnerability within the Apple Remote Desktop Agent

(ARDAgent). It is part of the remote-management component of Mac OS X 10.4 and

10.5, and is owned by root. Thus, the ARDAgent executable runs this malicious code as

root without requiring a password. The Washington Post on Monday reported the

presence of a hacker forum devoted to the development of Trojans around this

vulnerability. The particular user forum at MacShadows.com has since been removed.

The Post was nonetheless able to obtain screenshots from the forum before it was

erased, and also a copy of the Mac Trojan template. Buried within the template was an

e-mail from one of the Trojan’s authors, “Andrew.” Despite their existence, there is no

evidence these Trojans are circulating widely on the Internet.

 

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10789_3-9976122-57.html

 

 

Rootkit for Cisco routers

Sweet.

Just like Microsoft in desktop PCs, Cisco devices are the dominant device in networking. A hacker has developed a "rootkit" that can do malicious things to the router and perhaps traffic flowing through it -- undetected. Of course, the would be hacker would have to obtain the router admin password which would be "Very Difficult To Do". Not. (Hint: try password, Password, Password1 or P@55w07d. If none of those work try starfleet ship names or planets from st@r w@rs)

May 14 - Hacker writes rootkit for Cisco's routers.

A security researcher has developed malicious rootkit software for Cisco Systems' routers, a development that has placed increasing scrutiny on the routers that carry the majority of the Internet's traffic. A researcher with Core Security Technologies developed the software, which he will unveil on May 22 at the EuSecWest conference in London. Rootkits are stealthy programs that cover up their tracks on a computer, making them extremely hard to detect. To date, the vast majority of rootkits have been written for the Windows operating system, but this will mark the first time that someone has discussed a rootkit written for IOS, the Internetwork Operating System used by Cisco's routers. "An IOS rootkit is able to perform the tasks that any other rootkit would do on desktop computer operating systems," said the developer. Rootkits are typically used to install key-logging software as well as programs that allow attackers to remotely connect with the infected system. A Cisco rootkit is particularly worrisome because, like Microsoft's Windows, Cisco's routers are very widely used. Cisco owned nearly two- thirds of the router market in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to research firm IDC. In the past, researchers have built malicious software, known as "IOS patching shellcode," that could compromise a Cisco router, but those programs are custom- written to work with one specific version of IOS. The new rootkit will be different. "It could work on several different versions of IOS," he said. The software cannot be used to break into a Cisco router -- an attacker would need to have some kind of attack code, or an administrative password on the router to install the rootkit, but once installed it can be used to silently monitor and control the device.
Source:

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145898/hacker_writes_rootkit_for_ciscos_routers.html

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Man-Machine Exoskeleton

Many years ago I read a novel called Armor by John Steakley. http://www.amazon.com/Armor-John-Steakley/dp/0886773687 Looks like we are getting closer to an armor / exoskeleton with the article below:

 

New pictures of XOS Exoskeleton. Popular Science has posted an article, including pictures and a video, on Sarcos-Raytheon’s XOS Exoskeleton, a full-body motion-assisting suit that could soon be available to soldiers. When wearing XOS, one can lift a 200-pound weight and feel like it is just 20 pounds, or throw a punch and have the suit’s metal fist follow through onto the target.

 

The suit has an array of sensors that track the pilot’s movements, echoing them with its hydraulic muscles at the same speed. Using XOS, the pilot can run, walk, cope with stairs and ramps, and lift heavy weights. It has been in development for a while and has one major hurdle to overcome: the tether. XOS can run off batteries, but only for 40 minutes. A director at the Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering

Center envisions the early version to be more of a workhorse than a warrior. A pluggedin suit, borrowing energy from a vehicle or a ship’s generator, could help a soldier rapidly unload a helicopter stacked with heavy equipment or repair tanks with broken tracks. Although the Army hopes to begin field-testing this version of the XOS by 2009,

 

Sarcos engineers are still working toward an entirely self-powered version. This summer, the company will launch a research program with an engine-design firm to develop a generator capable of powering the XOS for hours at a time.

 

See also: http://www.popsci.com/exoskeleton

 

Armed Flyers on Airplanes

Apparently, all that is required to carry a loaded weapon onto a US flight is an ID and a letter that authorizes to carrying of the weapon. Sure makes me feel good about getting on an airplane, and the security of my fellow passengers. Read the complete article for more details.

 

-DT

 

Excerpts from the article:

 

“U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson has given the Transportation Security Administration two weeks to report to his committee what the agency is doing to make sure air passengers claiming to be police officers are positively identified before they are allowed to bring their guns aboard.”

 

From later in the article:

 

“Under federal rules, passengers must present to an airline representative a photo ID identifying themselves as a law enforcement officer and a letter from their agency before they are allowed to pass through security with their weapon. But the regulations do not require anyone to independently verify the passenger actually is a police officer.”

 

Article is located at: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080205/NEWS/802050384/1001/news

 

 

 

Cyber-espionage spilled from governments into the private sector

What is YOUR exposure to being a target of cyber criminals? What information does your company have, that when put together with the information from a hundred other companies, could be used against you or against the security of the US?

 

More importantly, would you know if your company information is already actively being compromised?

 

-DT

 

Article found in InfoWorld, Jan 15, 2008

 

Cyber-espionage moves into B2B

The SANS Institute says that cyber-espionage has spilled from governments into the private sector and that it will expand in international business in 2008

 

Excerpt:

The practice of cyber-espionage is rapidly moving beyond the government sector and finding its way into the world of international business, according to experts with SANS Institute, one of the world's top IT security training organizations.

 

While the United States and Chinese governments, most notably, have accused each other in recent years of carrying out surreptitious hacking campaigns aimed at stealing strategic information from their respective IT systems -- and many security experts believe that both countries, and many others, are actively engaging in such electronic warfare -- leaders with SANS maintain that the practice has recently begun to spill over into the private sector with greater frequency.

 

According to the training institute's latest research, cyber-espionage efforts funded by "well-resourced organizations" -- including both government-backed and private efforts -- will expand significantly during 2008, in particular as overseas companies look to gain an upper hand in negotiating business deals with large companies based in the U.S. and Europe.

 

Link: http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/01/15/Cyber-espionage-moves-into-B2B_1.html

 

 

Hackable Systems on new Boeing Dreamliner

Yikes. I wonder if this is why I have to turn my computer off during takeoff and landing.

DT

 

January 7, Computer Weekly – (National) Concerns over Boeing ‘Dreamliner’ IT

flight systems. Hackers may be able to access aircraft flight and management systems in

Boeing’s new mid-range jet, the 787-8, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation

Authority. The FAA said that there are links between the networks that run the

passenger “domain,” which allows passengers to access the internet during flights, and

aircraft-management systems. This means they do not contain “adequate or appropriate

safety standards for protection and security of airplane systems and data networks

against unauthorized access,” the FAA said. A Boeing spokesman said the aircraft

maker was aware of the problem and would test its fix in March, when the so-called

Dreamliner makes its maiden flight. It delayed the first flight in September last year, and

postponed deliveries by six months to the end of 2008. At the time it noted an

“increasing risk to the delivery schedule,” and said “the margin to accommodate

unexpected issues had been eliminated.”

 

Source: http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/Article.aspx?liArticleID=228784

 

 

FBI compiling big database of physical traits

FBI compiling big database of physical traits

Project would give the government unprecedented tool to identify people

 

“The FBI has embarked on a $1 billion effort to build the world's largest computer database of peoples' physical characteristics, a project that would give the government unprecedented abilities to identify individuals in the United States and abroad.

 

Digital images of faces, fingerprints and palm patterns already are flowing into FBI systems in a climate-controlled, secure basement here. Next month, the FBI intends to award a 10-year contract that significantly would expand the amount and kinds of biometric information it receives.”

 

I have mixed feelings about this. This is the same government that helped out New Orleans after Katrina. I don’t do anything naughty and worthy of FBI attention, so on one hand I like this database which can be used to catch the bad guys. On the other hand, I don’t really want to be identified as a suspect of interest just because I stubbed my toe and some camera somewhere videos my limp which matches someone else who they are interested in.

 

Full story: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/5399688.html

 

-DT